I had a great weekend 'Up North". Lake Vermilion is roughly 4.5 hours North of Twin Cities. My parents own a cabin on Lake Vermilion. I have always though of it as 'our' cabin, as my parents bought the property when I was 12 years old. As I was telling co-workers that I was going to 'my cabin' I realized it is not mine, it is theirs.

The cabin has no road access. In the summer we park our vehicles at the local resort and boat approximately 2 miles to the shoreline. In the winter, a neighbor, who lives there YEAR ROUND (I can not fathom) plows a road right over the ice. I had emailed him previously to make certain that we could use his private road and could he please please please plow the road over near our shoreline so that it would make our trek that much easier. He was willing, and did a wonderful job!

We arrived at the cabin around 3 PM Friday afternoon. The ice road was fantastic. It was wide - at least 20 feet - and well marked. They have received over 5' of snow this winter so there were obvious snowbanks on both sides of the road. We hopped out of our vehicles and shovelled our way up to the front door. Our (their!) cabin sits atop a huge hill, approximately 1/2 mile from the lakeshore...we shovelled and shovelled and shovelled our way up..then some more to the sauna..the wood shed...the outhouse..eventually we were unpacked and in the cabin. Where it was 28 degrees F INSIDE of the cabin!. Yeah, welcome to Northern Minnesota.

Larry started a fire which had the cabin at a toasty 75 degrees within 3 hours...amen! Is there anything worse than being cold? Don put on a huge kettle of turkey soup that he brought along, I put together a loaf of bread for the breadmaker, dinner was ready before we knew it.

There were 8 of us who spent the weekend. We did many hours of snow show running. I brought Topaz, my trustee running partner along, he slept all the way home yesterday..I think he had a great weekend workout..

We headed on out with snowshoes Saturday morning, ran for 5 hours through the deep snow and made our way to the Vermilion Gorge, which sits atop the Vermilion River. It is a spectacular damn and waterfall. The water was running so quickly, it was around 35 degrees outside, and then freezing on the rocks. I have some really neat pictures I'll post.

We headed back to the cabin, near the lakeshore we cut out holes for ice fishing. I don't really care to sit and ice fish. It is not my thing. I and Topaz opted to run a few more miles up and down the ice road while they caught many many perch.

Pierre, ultra-runner magnificent- (he ran the 135 mile Badwater Ultra - through Death Valley this past summer AND the Grand Slam- 4 100's in 3 months...and placed in the top 100) fried up huge fish fry for us Saturday night.

Our neighbors up there thought we were crazy. Running, snowshoeing and Pierre brought his 'winterized' bike. He rode 100 miles in the Susitna 100 race (Alaska) last February. This February, he and Don are snowshoe running it..not only do you have to run the 100 miles, you have to pull a sled with 15 pounds of survival gear/food and water. Yowzie...these are the folks I spent the weekend with! They make me look quite moderate!!

My best friend, Bonnie came along too; she caught the biggest perch. A whopping pound, I'd say! (Bonnie is the friend who WON the woman's McNaughton 100 mile race that we are doing this April 16).

We went out for another couple hours of running yesterday AM before we cleaned up and headed on home. Sure was a great weekend!!

I indulged in some chocolate chip/pecan/cherry cookies that we baked up there, some homeade caramel corn and the fried fish. With all the running, my weight didn't creep up, THANK GOD! I maintained!!

Thursday, January 27, 2005

I've been reading the book, Leanness Lifestyle by David Greenwalt. I'm totally consumed by it. It is a very detailed program with step by step coaching. Get this. I had a 'tele-conference' with Dave and 3 other women that are learning the program and the tools the program offers. We actually spoke with Dave, via the telephone. I was pretty impressed.

Maggie Wang suggested looking at this program to me, and so far, I can see why. I love the details. I love being accountable to someone else, I love the structure.

I've applied to David's "Bootcamp Intensive" it is a five week program, then three weeks off, and five weeks on. The details are at www.leannesslifestyle.com It looks very intriguing to me, I haven't heard yet if I have been accepted.

Yesterday's run with the run club was awesome. There were only 4 of us. We ran the 5 miles in 38:23 or so. The fastest I think I have ever run. They ALL passed me in the final block; what a bummer. I had nothing left to give. I did my best, but was still ticked off that I cared that I was last.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

A few weeks ago I and a bunch of my ultra running buddies met in Southern MN for some trail running on the river bluffs. We ran for 4 hours and just had a delightful time. We took it slow, chatted, had a blast.

During our run we were talking about future races, what our plans for 2005 were. Don is running the Susitna 100; a 100 mile race in Alaska, so is Pierre. They were talking about getting some hours on the ice. I told them that we have a cabin on Lake Vermilion-in Northern MN and that I'd like to invite everyone up.

Fast forward a few weeks and all is set for this Friday. 8 of us are going to go the the lake. We'll have to snow shoe in, there is no road, and of course the lake is frozen now. We'll have to sled our food, water, supplies. We'll have electricity and lots of heat from the wood stove. We'll ice fish, sauna, get LOADS of snow shoe running in. I'm SO looking foward to it.

The cool thing is that I have always wanted a group of people with similiar likes as mine, to hang out with. I have finally found those people. Before I quit drinking I 'd get together for a weekend of drinking and feel like crap for the next week, and feel guilty and wish I hadn't said or did what I had done. 8 years ago, when I quit drinking and began to run I couldn't find any people that I wanted to hang out with. I couldn't find any runners, felt like I didn't have any friends. This group of people I all met online 3 years ago. Isn't that crazy? They have become my best friends, the group of people I like to hang out with, the group of people that my family enjoys. This is a group of people who have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I'm so excited! We'll have SO much fun!

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Week 3 is complete. I'm down 1.5 pounds this week. I thought I was 143 last Sunday, but I guess I was 144. Happy Days!

My average daily calories for the week: 1356, ratio: 47% Carb; 40% Protein, 13% Fat, not too bad. I did try to increase my carbs as I was planning on running the snowshoe marathon yesterday. My 'high' day was 1654 calories.

I lifted 3 x this week; all upper body though, saving my legs for the race.

Did run 3x HIIT for a total 8.16 miles; ran 32 trail miles and 5 road miles for a total of 45.16 miles.

I had one 'splurge' meal this week, the first in three weeks, two bowls of Lucky Charms that were fantastic!

I'm finding that in order to lose fat I can't do the whole free day thing. The 3000 calories I ingest on that day ruin all the hard work I have completed the other 6 days of the week. It isn't worth it.

Goal for this week: 141 pounds, to take new pictures for Bodyforlife-tracker, average 1350 calories again and take one splurge meal.

Saturday, January 22, 2005

I'm happy to report that I ended up running 25 miles today. I was feeling like a loser because I didn't make the trip to Duluth. Crazy to feel that way, but I did.

I and Topaz ran for 15 miles this morning. It was rough work. We broke the trail so the first loop was the most difficult. Each loop is 5 miles. We ran 15 miles the first trip out. Went home, showered, and attended Troy's basketball game.

Figured I still hadn't run as much as I was scheduled to, and planned to. I had been eating extra carbs all week, tapered my trail running a bit and didn't lift legs because of the race today.

We went out for another 10 miles. Yahoo! I was exhausted, but felt like I accomplished something. Back home, another shower and hit the movies with the family. Meet the Faukers. Too funny!

I am trying to upload some pics of our run and keep getting error messages. I'll try again.

Just heard from my friends' at the race that left yesterday morning before the snow hit. NO BODY finished the whole marathon, too much snow. It took Bonnie and Don 8 hours to run the 1/2 marathon distance. They broke the trail. Unreal! There was 26" of new snow over the past 2 weeks to break. Wowzie. Still, wishing I was there...

Of all weekends for the snow to come, why this weekend? Why last night?

I've been excited for the snowshoe marathon all winter long. We had no snow to train on but there was plenty in Duluth for the race.

Yesterday we began to get our snow..and snow..and snow. Today there is 13" of the white powdery stuff out there.

I left the house this morning at 4 AM, hoping the roads would be plowed and just fine. They weren't. The County Roads haven't been touched, the wind is whipping, the snow if flying, the roads are impassable.

I drove 45 minutes and turned around and came home. Defeated by the roads. I'm a chicken driver anyway.

I totalled out a car when I was due to have Tyler in two weeks. I was drving to fast into work one day and lost control on ice. It was horrible. I ended up in the ditch, rolling over, then upside down. Frightful.

I'm so sad to miss the race..I tried..I couldn't drive in those conditions.

The positives..I and Topaz will hit the trail ourselves..it won't be 26 miles but I'll at least get in 10. I'll be able to watch Troy's basketball game at 11:30 too.

I'm totally sore today. I did Betagen; that usually takes the soreness away ... not this time!

I have my snow shoe marathon Saturday so I am not lifting legs this week. I'll lift back on Thursday.

I get so damn antsy, confused, anxious with this whole weight loss thing. Aren't there heavy ultra runners out there? Are they all twig people? On every calorie calculator that I enter my 500+ minutes a week of exercise into and the calories that i'm eating it's like I should eat 2400 calories a day to sustain my activity and lose weight. Well right. Sorry, doesn't work. WTF?

I'm checking into Leanness Lifestyle now too. Lifting, cardio, eating, etc. That calculator states I should zig zag from 1330 to 1663 during the week with an average of 1300. Protein and Carbs at 133 g. It says I'll be 13% body fat at 139 pounds. Well I'm 144 now, hopefully that should't be TOO far off. That's pretty close to what I'm doing now.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

This is I and Bonnie, my great ultra running friend, after the Snowshoe Marathon last year. I finished in 5:35. It was tough!

Bonnie and I ran our first 50K and 50 miler together. She now is ultra runner extrordinare. She has 5 100 mile finishers to her credit, plus she WON the woman's group in the 100 mile McNaughton last year. She talked me into making it my first 100 miler this year. April 16. Eeek!

I didn't have a free day or a free meal. I did have 1 cup of buttered microwave popcorn. Very salty, very greasey and just what I wanted! The day after the popcorn the scale was 5...yes 5 pounds heavier! Then it went back down. The salt retained a lot of water!

I lost one pound this week. I began at 148; today weigh 144. Great progress for me!

Today is damn cold. Ran 10 miles in -30F. It sucked. My hands were cold, I didn't want to go to the bathroom because my butt was frozen. I wore tights, baggy tights and wind pants. Ass still froze. Topaz was fine, but after 10 I bagged it. Came home and ran 5 on the treadmill. That was just fine!

Next Saturday is the snowshoe marathon. I haven't been on snowshoes once this winter as we have like one inch of snow. The marathon is in Duluth were apparently they have 3' of snow. Ought to be interesting.

I'll take this next week pretty easy before the marathon. It is like an ultra, in that it takes over 6 hours to complete. All up and down, trail, and 3' of snow in snowshoes. Mega fun.

I'll run 5 with the run club on Wednesday, will do my HIIT and weight workouts. Maybe some light jogging in neighborhood so Topaz can stretch his legs.

Friday, January 14, 2005

It really is cold outside today in MN. -24 F air temperature and -45F wind chill. Now that is chilly, folks. The media guys are being rather goofy; the weathercaster was throwing water into the air this morning showing us how quickly it turned into snow. He then proceeded to freeze an egg on the sidewalk .. in less than a minute. OK, it's cold, but this in MN afterall.

I'll be lifting and running at the gym tonight.

Here is yesterday's workout:

4:30 AM: 20 minutes HIIT running: 2.81 miles

Yesterday I began the MAX OT program for lifting. I worked biceps/triceps. The idea is you lift heavy, with reps of only 4-6; if you can lift over 6 reps the weight is too light, if you can't get 4, the weight is too heavey, sets of 2-3. I did it incorrectly for day 1 and did sets of 5-6. How I misread the instructions the first time, I don't know. But here is what I did:

Thursday, January 13, 2005

I thought I found a good, sweet snack. I purchased a bag of Sorbet Sugar Free Life Savers, a bag of the regular fruit Sugar Free Life Savers and a bag of Sugar Free WintOgreen Life Savers. (Why not one bag to try out?)

After ingesting approximately 6 of these, over the course of a few hours I began to have horrible stomach cramps. It felt like two kittens were fighting in my stomach. I had to run to the bathroom over and over. My stomach distended four inches. I had to undo my belt! It was HORRIBLE!!!

What is in these things that my body was trying to rid itself of? No more sugar free deadlies.

Of course, I had a 10 mile run to complete three hours from this attack. Luckily, it went off without a hitch. There was 2" of fresh snow, that made the running difficult, it was more like a trudging instead of a running. Felt like quicksand that was slippery. My calves became quite tight, but all was A-OK. I love running!

Totals: Calories-1334
Carbs: 30%
Protein: 51%
Fat: 19%

I'm surprised at the low carb intake. I did eat the fortified french toast meal, an oatmeal meal, but had mainly protein and veggies the rest of the day.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

It has come to my attention that I have never once, never ever ever, tracked my Large Caribou Skinny Latte. Imagine That. I have at least 2 .. sometimes 4 .. a week. I have never thought of tracking coffee. Of course there is skim milk in there, but still..it's coffee.

Until today. As I was driving back to work, it hit me. DUH! This has calories and is NOT on the plan today. Then I realized I have never counted it as I have never looked it up.

Once back to the office I went to Caribou dot com and found 159 calories/21 carbs in my beloved afternoon drink. My morning 2 cups of coffee at home, are black.

Monday, January 10, 2005

Today went very well. Diet was right on and the work out was great. Worked chest/shoulders at the gym tonight. The gym is crazy full, still, I'm hoping the New Resolutioneers go back to the couch soon.

They look in such rough shape, and really, they are better than usual. The blisters are subsiding because I haven't been running 50 milers since October. I wouldn't dare to go and get a pedicure. The poor technician would probably vomit.

I take such good care of them. I soak them in Epsom salts, I use a pumice stone on them, I soak in my foot spa, I lube them up before I run..still..blisters and broken, gone or black toenails.

I think I have found the answer. After reading John Vonhof's Fixing Your Feet I am trying some new items.

This weekend prior to my Saturday and Sunday runs I taped my feet with Elasticon tape. And it actually stuck. Usually the tape I use ends up in a ball at the end of my sock, inflicting more damage than if I hadn't taped in the first place. This Elasticon stayed right where I put it. I then sprinkled my feet with powder instead of using Body Glide. I didn't get ANY blisters Saturday or Sunday. Not even a hot spot. I think I'm onto something.

I am running the Northwoods Snowshoe Marathon on January 22nd. That will be a good test.

Sunday, January 09, 2005

Yesterday I hopped on the scale and was still 148. I was confused. How could I have not lost anything..even a fraction of a pound when I had counted every lick, bite, taste, snack and meal? How?

Mid week I bounced up to 150. That was the pits. 2 extra pounds of what, exactly?

Well, today back on the scale I went, this time with much anxiety, but was 3 pounds down. Yahoo! How did it all leave over night? Does anyone understand this? Why should I care as long as the fat is down, right...well, I'm a question asker.

Nutrition:

My average calorie intake for the week: 1316
Average breakdown of calories for the week: Carbs: 38%; Protein 43%, Fat 19%. I'm kind of surprised that the protein is higher than the carbs with all of the french toast I've been consuming.

I didn't take a free meal or a free day during Week 1. I wanted to see what would happen without any extras.

Today I and Topaz the trusty training partner ran 15 miles on the trail. Loop 1 of five miles took 60 minutes, loop 2 took 57 minutes and loop 3 took 50 minutes. It's odd that I became faster as I went farther. I've never timed myself until this week. It's good to track the numbers I am finding out!

After our run, I and the family went to the snow hill for 3 hours snow tubing. What a blast!! I'm exhausted now. Think I'll hit the couch and watch the Vikings play the Packers.

Topaz still has energy. He's chasing poor Toffee.

With McNaughton looming ahead in April I am going to increase my weekly base mileage to 55 miles; my high weeks will be 75 miles. My aim is to run 30 Saturday/20 Sunday weekends every 3 weeks. I think that running on tired legs during the Sunday workout will be good practice for the 100 miler. Or so I have read. And read. And read.

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Lately I find myself becomming obsessed by numbers. How many calories to lose fat; how many calories to gain muscle; how many calories to lose fat and gain muscle, how many calories to maintain. Do you ever find your groove?

There are so many fitness calculators and each has a different range. Per Hussman, I need to eat between 1240-1550 to lose fat. There is a difference of 310 calories within that spread. That is my goal, this Challenge II, to lose fat. I want to keep the precious muscle that I have grown, but I want to lose the layer of fat that is surrounding it. To gain this muscle I was eating 1800 calories a day, with one free day of 2200 calories (roughly). To lose this fat I am aiming at 1400 calories each day, with one free day of approximately 2000. We'll see how this works at the end of the week. Nothing has changed so far ... it is only Week 1 I keep telling myself..

A great fitness excel spreadsheet is at Maggie's site. She is brilliant! Check out www.causticmuse.com and go do her December 2, 2004 entry. You can download the spreadsheet there and find out all the numbers you need in order to reach your goals. Brilliant.

I need to increase my weekly mileage these next few months in order to run my 100 mile race with a chance of finishing. In the past, when I have had a 50 mile race planned, my high weekly mileage is 50 miles, my regular weeks are 30-40. For the 100 mile training plan I am aiming for high mileage of 75, 50 for the regular weekly mileage.

Last night I ran 10 miles, which I usually don't do, mid-week. I run with a run club on Wednesday evenings, usually for 5 miles. Last night, after completing the 5 miles I went off by my myself for another 5 mile run. I felt proud of myself for actually doing it. It was -5F and a -30 F windchill Sure, I thought about it all day but it is so easy to change my mind last minute and figure 5 is good enough. Then I thought about the 100 miler in April and thought again! Mailing in that entry months ahead was a smart thing to do!

This morning was HIIT. As I was running on the treadmill at home, seemingly hitting 10's at slower speeds, I realized that I had run 10 miles not more than 8 hours ago. Then I didn't feel so bad about the speed in which I was running!

I'll run a few miles with Topaz after work today, before Troy's basketball practice. Tomorrow and Sunday will be Day 2 and 3 of lifting. I hope the gym is a bit more quiet than when I was there on Monday!

Monday, January 03, 2005

Yesterday I went to the gym and to my great surprise there were not legions of people there. I thought that maybe this year I wasn't going to be bothered with the new people that come every January 1 for a month, then I never see them again.

They arrived today. They must wait until the Monday following the first. You know, when you always began your new diet and new lifestyle and new workout program..every Monday.

There was absolutely not one parking place in the whole parking lot. I had to park at a dental office next door. Unbeliveable. Even more unbelievable, and sad, is that NOT ONE WOMAN was in the weight room. All the women were doing cardio.

My very good friend, Ann, planned a Birthday Party for me. I had no clue. I thought the two of us were going out for a birthday dinner. I couldn't believe my eyes when we were shown to our table, and 8 of my best running buddies were waiting for me.

We've spent many hours and miles on the trail together but not many hours dressed in regular clothes, make up and hair.

They kept telling me I 'clean up pretty well'. I think that was a compliment?

Another year begins. My mother was right, as time goes on, the years come and go with more speed.

It's crazy outside today. There is freezing rain coming from the sky. There isn't any snow on the ground. This is Minnesota for cripes sake!

I and Topaz ran 10 miles on the trail today. He went faster on the second loop than the first. The dog doesn't run out of energy. Well, actually, he is curled up next to the fireplace right now..sleeping.

My sister and I did some shopping today. I think the holiday's have left me with that 'all shopped out' feeling. I wasn't into looking for deals, I just wanted to be home next to the fire.

I decided not to go to the New Year's Eve party last night. For some reason home just seemed like a better place to be. We were all snug in our beds by 10:30. Such partiers!

Today marks Day 1 of Challenge II. I'll complete 3 sessions of HIIT each week, 3 lifting days and follow the BFL way of eating.

For Challenge I I lost 7 pounds of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle. For Challenge II I want to lose more fat and retain the muscle.

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About Me

20 years ago in the haze of a hangover I read Oprah's Make The Connection. It changed my life. I lost the fat, I put down the booze, began eating in a healthy manner, began to walk, then run. Run On! I first began running marathons. Liked it so much I found some crazy ultra runners in MN who showed me the trail and ultramarathons. 50 marathons and 80 ultra marathons later ( 20 100 mile ultramarathons) I am sober, lean and happy. I am now inspiring others to run, as Oprah inspired me. Coaching beginning runners is a gift I like to give every day. It's not just about running..it's about all that comes with it: goal setting, empowerment, a belief in oneself, being true to oneself. 2007 brought 4 100 mile finishes, 2008 brought 4 100 mile finishes, a BQ and PR at TCM, a PR at the 100 mile trail distance at Javelina Jundred: 23:13. 2009 brought another PR at the 100 mile distance! Amazing. Lean Horse 100, a dream come true. What holds for 2010?